Merchant Noble is out (3/3 chapters for today)
Church Army Retreat
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A few days later, a statement was issued by Baron Warden.
- The Warden Household apologizes to the church for ignoring the heretic elimination decree.
- The Warden Household will now strive to eliminate heretics within their territory.
Upon receiving this statement, Zenon decided to withdraw the church army. Regardless of the actual circumstances, anyone who heard this statement would understandably think that the Warden Household had submitted to the church. The church had extracted a concession from the baron.
Zenon gathered the church army and gave a proud speech. When he counted the assembled soldiers, he found that the more than 30,000 soldiers before the battle had now become 20,000. The church army had lost one-third of its numbers in the fighting.
“Holy knights and faithful believers. Thanks to your great sacrifices, the Baron Warden has finally acknowledged his wrongdoing. He has promised to obey the church from now on. The Warden Household will henceforth be a good friend of the church. God will surely rejoice as the nests of the heretics continue to diminish.” (Zenon)
“Waaaaaaah!” (Soldiers)
At Zenon’s words, the church soldiers raised their voices in cheer. It had ended with the victory of the church.
“Oh God. With Your holy power, our comrades have awakened safely. We thank You for that great power.” (Zenon)
Zenon looked up at the sky and exaggeratedly prostrated himself so that the soldiers behind could see.
“Thank God.” (Zenon)
“Thank God!!” (Soldiers)
Seeing Zenon’s demeanor, the soldiers were also overjoyed. They joyfully called out the name of God while shedding tears at having won the holy war against the heretics.
- Why had the church army, stopped at the foot of the mountain, not even entered the territory of the Warden household?
- Why did they only apologize to the church and not pay any compensation?
- Is the church going to monitor whether the Warden household will execute the elimination of heretics?
Among the approximately 20,000 surviving soldiers, there was not a single person who held such doubts. Those who could view things objectively and calmly were not fanatical believers to begin with.
To the believers, the words of Chief Priest Zenon are absolute. Doubt was not even permitted. They were very simple and understanding people.
“Ah. It truly helps that the heads of the believers are empty.” (Zenon)
Amidst the great cheers of the soldiers, Zenon muttered. It was not a mockery. He sincerely thanked the ignorant believers from the bottom of his heart. However, there was one person among the church army who was not ignorant. It was Saintess Marie.
“Saintess-sama, what’s wrong?” (Sister)
“Oh Mother. I’m a little tired.” (Marie)
Marie and the treatment team were at the rear of the church army, which was returning to the royal capital, intoxicated by the church’s victory. Marie, who was the only one with a gloomy face, caught the attention of the sisters.
“It’s only natural that Saintess-sama is tired since she has been treating the injured without rest. We will now organize the items in the carriage. Please lie down in the open space.” (Sister)
“Yes, but I feel sorry for resting when others are walking.” (Marie)
Marie hesitated to ride in the carriage alone, but the sisters would not back down.
“No, no. Your body is the most important thing to the church. Now, please rest.” (Sister)
“Well then. I will take you up on your words.” (Marie)
Supported by the sisters, Marie climbed into the carriage and lay down in the corner where bandages and treatments were stacked. In this battle, Marie had been treating the injured alongside the church sisters. Since she had hardly rested, an overwhelming sleepiness attacked her the moment she lay down. However, despite her body wanting to sleep, her mind kept thinking. She could not forget Arc’s words from the other day.
“Marie-sama. You must have wanted to be free. Not a constrained princess, but to freely save people. You are a Saintess now. You can save people, but you are far from being free.” (Arc)
Those words had beautifully explained the questions deep within her heart. Indeed, Marie had become a Saintess to save people. She had become a Saintess to be a beacon of hope for those in despair. However, what the church was doing now was not saving people. They were merely intervening with the kingdom and nobles under the guise of being God’s agents. Since Marie was prominently featured as the Saintess, this current situation weighed even more heavily on her heart. In this battle, many believers had died.
The church army, which had recklessly charged with only swords against the fully prepared Warden Household army, which had established a fortified position utilizing the terrain with professional soldiers at the center, had seemingly not had a plan. The Church side had no fighting professionals, including the Chief Priest Zenon. The believers, who were showered with countless arrows while thinking they were dying for God, were far too pitiful.
Does God truly wish for such things?
In Marie’s heart, a cloud of doubts was rising against the church.
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