Chapter 1109 The Godking Retaliates 1
"They've hidden themselves with all sorts of formations, but the stench of death is unmistakable. With just that one attack, we are certain that at least a few thousand of them have burned into nothingness… just keep watching, madam, and after giving you the victory, I hope you will not stint on the praise when you speak to His Holiness."
The Bishop's face finally melted and a smile came on the corner of her lips when this report appeared from a disk floating in the centre of the room.
In one corner of it, there was a bundle of rags that one might almost mistake for nothing more than that, but now and then, it would twitch as if someone was under it.
It twitched more strongly now than ever before while the report echoed in the room, and noticing this, the Bishop turned toward it and said, "Will you stay silent and watch, now?"
Jonah didn't know how he was supposed to answer, as his whole body was paralysed due to his spinal cord being hit multiple times when the Bishop had vented her anger on him in full view of all the commanders in the room. All he could do was twitch again, and taking it for assent, she raised her hand and cast a spell that he was all-too-familiar with.
It was a stopgap healing method that only addressed the most grievous wounds, but as he was already used to this kind of treatment, it was enough for him to rise and take a step forward.
"Come sit with us, Jonah of Angaria. I trust that this is not the first time you're hearing the words 'Tenebrous Knights'?"
Seeing that it would take him a half-hour to reach the centre of the room if he followed his current pace, she impatiently raised her hand again and made him teleport forward.
She also increased the intensity of the healing spell so that it repaired his spine and gave him back control of his body. Propped up in front of all the commanders again, he nodded in response to her question, following which her smile broadened before she spoke.
"Yes…how could you forget. Just one of them was enough to kill hundreds of you and almost succeed in killing that brat… and that Knight was even one from the bottom of the pack! In fact, he was so weak that he shouldn't even have been given the name…but because the Church didn't want to waste all of the resources spent on him, they marked him for obscure missions like the one where he was sent here. Now, all those that you see here are the cream of the crop. They have been practising with their ghostly flames for decades, and they were even selected because they had a natural talent in the aspect of fire. They were subjected to pain and suffering so that all of their emotions could be culled, until all that remained was a desire to kill and grow, just so that they can kill more. When their life burns to give their flame power, they laugh. They are feared all over the Mainland… so you should feel proud that your pissant continent is being graced by their presence."
Her speech was punctuated by many nods of approval from the commanders. He knew for a fact that even they had been taken aback when this backup force was revealed, but it was obvious that they were very happy with its identity.
Jonah didn't know what to say, so he just kept silent and continued to stare as the group who were denoted by a clump of green skulls kept moving toward the eastern shore of Angaria. The fact that thousands had died even after so many defensive means had been used by Angaria was troubling, but at the moment, he was mostly angry due to the thought that he was powerless to do anything but watch.
He knew that the anger would not help him, though, so he let none of it show as the Bishop and the commanders turned to the image, too, and waited.
A few seconds later, that voice from before was once again heard in the room.
"We are approaching our destination. Activating transmission. Standby to receive."
Just like before, the image of Angaria appeared in the room, but this time, it was on the ceiling. Everyone present arched their heads up, and when Jonah did this too, he had to bite his lip to stop the scream that had almost spilt out of his mouth due to the pain of straining his neck that was still severely injured.
It was the norm for those who were sending information to always be at the back, so once again, the members of this secondary force were arrayed in front of the one who was holding the transmission trinket. Jonah counted quickly, and when the final number only came up to 60, he was puzzled.
As if she could sense his doubt, the Bishop said, "Each one of them is worth 10 times those soldiers that we lost before. They also have enough power to beat 10 times their number, so it would be more accurate to count these 60 as 600. When they burn… together, they could even hope to hold their own against a half-step Saint."
From her words, he didn't understand much about the range of their power, but just the mention of that Saint made Jonah wish that he could run away and hide. The memory of that man was just that fearsome, so even if the Bishop was exaggerating… Angaria was definitely in grave danger.
The only silver lining was that he had heard some say the same about the first wave from before. If all of them could work together, they were supposed to be able to stand up to someone who had reached a quarter of the way to the next realm, but they had all been defeated all the same.
Only… when he thought this, he could tell right away that he was doing so to reassure himself. The might of the Tenebrous Knights truly was known throughout the Mainland, and they were notorious for not sparing anyone, no matter how young or how old they were if they were given an order to kill.
In the image, the group was flying fast. A massive green skull made of fire that was also burning with angry turquoise coloured flames surrounded them and was protecting them from the wrath of the sea and the sky, and slowly, they were getting nearer and nearer to the shore.
Jonah waited and wondered whether he would be seeing a repeat of the scene from before. If so, he could only hope that it would also end in the same way, but suddenly, for reasons that none of them was able to see, the entire group ground to a halt.
Together with the rest, Jonah searched around in the image to see just what might have stopped them, and right away, his eyes came to rest on a solitary figure standing right in front of them.
His hair was flying lazily in the wind, and his eyes were so intense that one might be burned if they dared to look into them. He had a royal air to him that would make lesser people wish to bow if they came near, and the golden robes he wore had a dragon swimming around in all its glory.
When he spoke, it was in a voice that was meant to command, and hearing it, the Bishop and many of the commanders shot to their feet.
"Pardon me, I was a bit preoccupied with something so I couldn't be there when we gave you that grand greeting. I am Daneel Anivron, and on behalf of the entire continent of Angaria, I would like to welcome you to…f*ck off!"
He was polite at first, but the last two words were uttered in such a murderous rage that all those present in the room with him could tell that this was a man who was in no mood to f*ck around.
Yet, the Bishop quickly sent a message to transmit her voice, and when she spoke, it was in a mocking tone.
"Just killing a few thousand rats has made you run out from the hole you were hiding in, huh? You think you're angry now… but just wait until millions die! Their blood will stain your land red, unless…you've come here to surrender?"
Daneel's response was in the form of the chuckle, and an expression of fury that covered his face and made him speak in a tone dripping with the desire to kill.
"No…originally, I was going to give you a chance to surrender, but that is no longer on the table."