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As the only religious force in the kingdom, the church’s influence was not something that could and should not be underestimated. It had to be known that even though the royal family’s power had changed hands during the last centuries, the church always remained the same.

It was a formidable and immovable institution whose power was second only to the royal family, not for lack of possibilities but because the church preferred to maintain the balance of power with royalty.

Whether it was financial power, resources, influence, or even martial power, the church had it all, and not many dared to oppose it. In case anyone dared to do so, it was the holy knights who exercised the beliefs and power of the church.

Due to all of the above, it was extremely rare for the church to face an attack or catastrophe; the current invasion was the exception.

The invading army that snuck into the city with the church’s help now ran rampant, devastating the city’s inner defenses and massacring anyone who dared to cross their path.

Attacking strategic targets for the advance of the invasion, aiming at the assassination of essential marks, and attempting to damage noble properties, the objectives of the invading army were varied, and the church never expected that they too would be on the list of targets.

Most of the current church leaders were, in the first instance, a group of greedy and corrupt pigs who had fallen prey to their own egos, intoxicated with power, lost in the pleasures of the flesh. However, they weren’t stupid; otherwise, they would never have reached their positions right now; then, a question arose. Why were they stupid enough to open the gates to an invading army from a foreign country?

The main motive was, of course, power and money; needless to say, the promised profits were gigantic enough to turn a saintly and pure princess into a whore; At least, that’s what the church leaders thought. It’s not like everyone shared such moral standards with pigs like them.

.....

Money was always a great source of motivation, but it was not enough for the church to make such a move; things changed when church leaders saw an opportunity to get rid of Cecilia using alien hands.

Last but not least, the church was never aware of the true scope of the invasion. Kormat’s empire kept its secrets very well, not to mention the church, who couldn’t see through their hidden intentions. The main problem was that no scout or outpost managed to detect the enormous invading army.

The number of resources, logistics, and planning behind a military move of this kind was not something an empire could cobble together overnight; it took years of planning.

Serith’s commanders knew this and were alarmed to realize that the empire had been targeting them for so long. The church, on the other hand, learning that they had been used so blatantly, was ashamed and furious, but most of all, they were scared.

If the church’s involvement in this invasion was discovered, no matter if Serith could withstand the attack, the church would suffer the wrath of the royal family and every noble family in the capital.

Their fear did not end there; should the empire win, which was famous for banning all religions within its territory. The church had no doubt that they would be the first to be purged, perhaps even before the royal family of Serith was annihilated.

As soon as the church realized, a full deployment of all the church’s armed forces was ordered. Every soldier, knight, and even their most potent weapons, the holy knights, were deployed in an attempt to support the defensive forces to resist the invasion, mainly from the attack that the city was suffering from within.

Knowing exactly what was at stake, the church went big, emptying its coffers without restraint. Each church soldier was armed to the teeth, with equipment of the highest quality, from armor and swords to special defensive devices, plus other treasures.

Even the holy knights, accustomed to luxury, gaped when they saw the men under their command; they no longer looked like soldiers. Instead, they were magical weapons with arms and legs.

What followed was a bloody one-sided massacre, where the church’s enemies were turned to mincemeat under indiscriminate fire. It was like watching a fireworks festival, although oddly, more glitter came out of the treasures worn by the church members than of the attacks they launched.

Ironically, due to the church’s massive military deployment, its own facilities were left vulnerable to enemy attack, but after causing minor damage, the invaders tested the church’s steel.

It could have been a coincidence or an intentional oversight, but among the few places that came to be attacked by the invading forces was Cecilia’s tower, which was lit on fire for a brief moment.

Now, smoke was still billowing from the top of the tower; however, the battle was already over. The invading forces had no chance once a holy knight appeared on the scene; sadly, someone inside the building did not feel saved by the arrival of the said knight and instead felt a deep sense of crisis... As always, she was too good at reading people.

Back at the entrance to the church grounds, a squad of nearly a dozen soldiers stood guarding the area, backs straight, eyes sharp, weapons at the ready; the group of soldiers was taking their current task very seriously.

Then, one of them noticed approaching them down an alley in the distance; with weary but determined steps, the figure drew steadily closer, growing large enough for the rest of the soldiers to notice.

“Stop right there, identify yourself, or we’ll attack immediately.”

Since the other party appeared to be alone and did not show any signs of aggression or carry anything that would link them to the invading army, the soldiers first issued a warning; as they prepared for any hint of hostility.

“Desmond Astryd, protector knight of the holy priestess Cecilia, I come accompanied by her holiness; now move out of the damn way.”

Not wanting to find any more trouble, Desmond identified himself, showing Cecilia, who was behind him. The soldiers recognized them, and although they didn’t like much the attitude demonstrated by Desmond, the truth is that the chilling feeling around him made none of them dare to say a single word.

Halfway down the path, both Desmond’s and Cecilia’s gazes focused on the top of the smoking tower that loomed above the defensive walls surrounding the church grounds.

“What happened in the tower?”

The lack of courtesy in Desmond’s voice was irritating, to say the least, yet the nearest soldier was quick to respond as he felt the temperature around him drop rapidly.

“Reporting to Sir Desmond, a small unit of invaders infiltrated the church grounds and attempted to cause damage but were quickly intercepted only minutes ago. Knight Erigard should have finished dealing with the problem by now.”

A bad feeling soon settled in the duo’s heart, not because of the attack that had occurred but because of the name of the gentleman who supposedly came to the rescue.

Someone would have to beat Desmond to death before he believed someone like Erigard would come to the rescue under any scenario. That was even more, the case when the place under attack was Cecilia’s tower.

Desmond resisted exhaustion, the multiple wounds all over his body throbbing with pain; Without the time to recover from his injuries, Desmond had to fight all the way here with barely a break.

Desmond’s mana reserves were already as dry as the desert despite his newly increased strength and absurd mana regeneration rate. His physical condition was also far from optimal.

Did any of these things do anything to slow Desmond’s progress? The answer was a profound no; nothing but death was capable of stopping Desmond, that or a set of huge chains. Absent either of these things, there was no way Desmond would stop looking for Kyuru to ensure his safety.

Cecilia was something of the same, so they both hurriedly strode toward the tower, resisting exhaustion. That was the case even for Cecilia, who spent insane amounts of mana using defensive barriers despite not having fought personally.

Already nearing the tower’s base, Desmond’s footsteps seemed to slow for a fraction of a second as his senses caught Erigard retreating from the area in the distance. Desmond’s instincts screamed at him to stop the idiot in his tracks, but his rational mind told him to stay his course and find Kyuru first.

That was a huge mistake on his part; Desmond wouldn’t know until a couple of minutes later how much he would regret letting Erigard go.