[Vol. 8] Chapter 43: Even the Goddess Has a Scandal?
“RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...!!!”
A huge dragon rose into the sky. What had been a bright and sunny morning suddenly turned dark as thick storm clouds gathered. The sky grew dim at a speed visible to the naked eye. Thunder rolled, and the terrifying sight, like the return of the Wheel of Fate, plunged nearly half of the Valandia province, centered around the Iron Ridge Fortress, into sudden darkness!
“Bzzz~ bzzz~ bzzz~~~~~”
“CRACK CRACK CRACK!!!”
An overwhelming divine pressure spread across the land without hiding itself. Every flying scout [Graeme] bird in the sky was instantly torn apart by the divine force, exploding midair at the same moment!
It wasn’t that they were targeted, they weren’t even important enough to be. But if you try to witness the power of a god, you must pay the price.
Seeing this, countless civilians in the area dropped to their knees in fear and began to pray. Even the tribal soldiers who had already left the fortress to follow orders and continue raiding nearby villages fell to the ground in terror. Many couldn’t even hold their weapons properly anymore. Their formation quickly began to fall apart.
These ordinary tribal soldiers didn’t know that there was an ancient evil god hiding behind their side in this war. The conflict had broken out so suddenly. While the wild tribes hated the Austre Empire, that didn’t mean every single tribesperson was a bloodthirsty killer who enjoyed slaughtering civilians.
During their march, they had heard rumors of what had happened along the way. When they learned the goal of this campaign was to kill and capture innocent people, many were unwilling to take part. Overall morale was already quite low.
But the chiefs and leaders had given strict orders, and their past grudge with Austre Empire pushed them forward, at least until now. The sudden arrival of this godly pressure, right as they were about to move again, and the way the sky changed, made these uneasy soldiers even more uncertain.
“The wrath of the gods… this must be divine punishment!”
“It must be the ancestor god warning us!”
“Screw this! Let someone else kill civilians, I came here to fight the Austre Empire’s army, not old people and kids who can’t even hold a knife!”
With morale already low, even a small panic could quickly cause a chain reaction. Many of the tribal warriors became frightened or angry, shouting loudly in confusion. Even the captains and powerful warriors in charge looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
Though things hadn’t completely fallen apart yet, the divine pressure had clearly slowed the whole operation.
At the same time, near the east city gate, the Saintess and her followers from the Holy Empire had just arrived. They too saw the bright golden dragon light shooting up from inside the fortress. Faced with the doomsday-like dark clouds covering the sky, these faithful believers of the goddess, though shocked and confused, held their ground. Their horses neighed nervously, but the group kept basic order, waiting for the Saintess to give further instructions.
Frederica, the Saintess, also raised her head to look at the magnificent fire that had shaken the heavens. Her expression shifted from surprise to slight confusion. She frowned slightly, without showing too much emotion.
“Lady Goddess…? No, wait! This power... I remember it appeared once before, back in Sainz. Wasn’t it from the Dragon God?”
“Strange... why would She suddenly appear here? Judging by this display... could it be that one of Her close followers is summoning Her down into the world?”
Commander of the Holy Knights, Leonard, always stayed just half a step behind the Saintess and led the group from the front. He lowered his voice and asked,
“Your Holiness, if the Dragon God really has come down into the fortress, would forcing our way in at the same time... possibly anger Her?”
“......”
The blonde girl stayed silent for a moment, thinking. For some reason, what came to mind was what a certain priestess had told her last night. The priestess hinted that all they needed to do today was focus on passing through the fortress and not worry about anything else.
Earlier, she had planned to tell Violet about the strange disappearance of Roga, but Renee had rushed back in a hurry and told the Saintess, with a helpless look, that "that person" had already left their tent early in the morning, leaving only a short note behind, "Don’t worry about me, just stick to the plan."
Although she didn’t dare guess that person’s real intentions, now they had just arrived at the gate, only to coincidentally witness the arrival of the Dragon God...
Could it be that this mysterious Dragon God, who recently appeared out of nowhere, actually has some secret connection to the Goddess?
Her thoughts raced, but the Saintess quickly stopped herself from speculating too much about the relationships between divine beings. She made a firm decision and raised her wide sleeve.
“Don’t be afraid. The Primordial Light is always with us. In the name of the Goddess, no matter why the Dragon God has come, this chaos only makes it easier for us to break through Iron Ridge... The plan stays the same. We move now!”
“Yes! Get ready, move forward!”
Leonard nodded, filled with renewed energy. He raised his holy sword, and several agile “Inquisitors” in light gear dashed out from the group. Using grappling hooks and the cover of the dark sky, they climbed the not-too-tall eastern wall of the fortress like silent cats and disappeared from sight.
“Bang!”
“Who’s there!?”
“Ugh!”
“Ouch!”
Only a few minutes later, with the sound of groans and heavy bodies hitting the ground, the east gate was slowly opened from the inside. The Inquisitors who had gone in reappeared on top of the wall and gave a hand signal to show everything had gone smoothly.
Seeing this, Frederica nodded in satisfaction.
The Inquisitors were an elite special unit directly under the Saintess, chosen from among many holy knights. They were highly skilled in powerful holy magic, had rich real battle experience, and were well-trained in many areas. To earn the title of Inquisitor, one had to at least reach the Sky Level, which was a very high standard.
Iron Ridge was more tightly guarded on the outside than the inside. The east gate, which faced the Austre Empire’s inner lands, was not as tall or well-defended as the west gate. Plus, the wild tribes were better at open-field battles and knew very little about defending forts.
The huge commotion caused by the Dragon God had completely distracted the guards. So, when nearly ten experienced Inquisitors struck together with a plan, they were able to take control of the gate fairly easily.
This was a clear example of how a true superpower could completely overpower a small tribal force in strategy, training, and overall ability, even when this was just a diplomatic mission.
With the gate wide open, the Saintess’s group, hundreds of people along with their horses and wagons, immediately entered the fortress in an orderly stream. Although Frederica had hoped to avoid fighting the tribal army and preferred to gain passage through talks and negotiation, they couldn’t just stand outside the gate, lay down their weapons, reveal their identities, and expect the guards to kindly let them in.