[Vol. 8] Chapter 283: Great Leap, East of the World
In the autumn of year 1377 of the New Calendar, the main reinforcements led by Bright Light Saintess Yuna Summerfield and Redemption Saintess Philomena Lambert officially arrived at the Holy Empire’s border city, Purple Mist City, and joined forces with the large army under the command of Judgement Saintess, Frederica Cecilia.
By this time, more than half a month had passed since the outbreak of the “Flesh Curse” disaster in the Theo Province and the appearance of a pitch-black crack in the sky.
Just as the high leaders of the Church had expected, the otherworldly invasion that first appeared near Purple Mist City was not a random event. In the past two weeks, unknown flesh-type monsters had been appearing in many areas of the Holy Empire’s eastern border, sometimes just over ten, sometimes over a thousand, leading to more than a dozen large and small battles with the holy knight orders guarding the cities.
Most of these monsters came from the scattered survivors of the battle at Purple Mist City, but some seemed to have wandered in from the Theo Province. Though they had no intelligence, their movements seemed to be directed by some higher being.
They moved across the Holy Empire’s eastern border, sometimes attacking villages and farms to kill civilians, sometimes cutting off supply lines to the front-line army. Their actions were different, but their results were strangely the same, causing constant chaos in the rear, creating a major distraction and delay for the Holy Empire’s main forces against the Austre Empire.
No more wormholes had appeared like the one in the Purple Mist City attack, but the threat was still too great to ignore.
Because of this, the Church changed its war strategy. It gave up parts of the frontmost territory and pulled the battle line back into a buffer zone, linking it to the main border defenses led by Purple Mist City, to avoid the danger of being attacked from both front and rear.
With the arrival of the two new Saintesses and their forces, the Holy Empire’s border now held almost 200,000 soldiers. For the Holy Empire, which always valued troop quality and had limited manpower, this was nearly 70% of their total main forces.
Meanwhile, Austre Empire kept increasing its troop numbers as it pushed the battle lines forward, step by step, as if determined to use this chance to deal a heavy blow to the Goddess Church and break through the front. A battle that could decide the war’s future was now likely very close.
……………………………………
Purple Mist City, Church
“So, you’re saying… Austre Empire has joined forces with that group called the ‘World Sustainers’?”
In the high hall, the three Saintesses each sat in their places. This gathering had originally been a welcoming banquet prepared by Frederica for the two arriving Saintesses. But since the three of them were already familiar with each other, and none were the formal or overly polite type, the talk naturally shifted to the current state of the war.
When the Bright Light Saintess calmly voiced her suspicion, Frederica seemed doubtful and shook her head slightly.
“Lady Yuna, no matter how much we and the Austre Empire fight, it’s still only a conflict within this world. But the World Sustainers are an invasion from beyond, merciless destroyers with no humanity or morals. Even if Austre Empire wants to defeat the Church, surely they wouldn’t…”
“Wouldn’t they? I think it’s completely possible. In fact, it’s the most reasonable explanation right now.”
Yuna neither confirmed nor denied, but her tone was steady.
“Otherwise, how could the Flesh Curse appear at such a perfect moment? And what about the actions of those monsters so far? Lady Frederica, have you considered, if Purple Mist City had truly fallen back then, the enemy could use it as a base to come through endlessly, cutting our border in two. The front-line army, without supplies or reinforcements, would be trapped between enemies on both sides. What do you think would happen then?”
As the spirit of a sacred relic that had existed for over a thousand years and seen countless wars and plots, Yuna’s view of the bigger picture was naturally sharper than the still-young Judgement Saintess. Even just from reports about the front line, she could easily find the key points, break them down, and make a logical deduction.
After hearing her reasoning, both the Judgement Saintess and the Redemption Saintess looked uneasy. They understood the danger perfectly well, without Yuna needing to say it outright.
“That’s too much! How could that emperor do such a thing? This is like letting wolves into the house! Just the disaster in Theo Province alone caused over a million deaths and injuries. If those things really invaded in full force, the people in the occupied lands would…”
The youngest of them, Miss Philomena, looked upset. As the Redemption Saintess, she was naturally kind and valued life greatly. Even if it was only one or two dying people, she would always try her best to save them. This kind of ruthless, inhuman plan went completely against her beliefs, and she could not accept it.
But Yuna only gave a faint smile.
“In this world, not everyone puts life first in their hearts. You and I have received the Goddess’s teachings, but that emperor is a cold and ruthless ruler. In his eyes, there is only gain and advantage. Working with an outside enemy is dangerous and will cause countless deaths, yes, but it is also the simplest and most effective way to defeat our nation.”
"If I guessed right, he must still have some hidden plan, something that will let the Austre Empire stay the strongest power in this world, maybe even stronger than before, even if the World Sustainers invade. What we need most right now is to quickly figure out what his real advantage is."
The Judgement Saintess and the Redemption Saintess looked at each other. What Yuna said sounded a bit like pure guessing, but this was the same person who, during the Fourth Demon War, had planned a huge world-shaking plan all on her own. If she said this, it probably wasn’t without reason.
Frederica nodded, showing she agreed with Yuna’s idea, then added.
"That being said, this isn’t something we can solve right away. No matter what the Austre Empire’s Emperor is planning, the most important thing now is to hold off this powerful attack in front of us. Right now, we have evil cults inside the country and the Austre Empire’s army pressing from outside. We already have more than enough to handle."
"And that powerful being who appeared suddenly, we must keep them on our watch list too. Their strength is far too scary. If they hadn’t acted personally last time, Purple Mist City would probably look completely different now."
The Bright Light Saintess nodded slightly.
"That’s exactly why the Pope sent me and Lady Philomena to help. Now that all three Saintesses are here, and with the combined power of our three holy artifacts, even a true god might not be unbeatable for us. And from your description, that being shouldn’t be able to fully descend into this world for now. Last time, you were just caught off guard."
While saying this, Yuna kept looking around the hall, as if searching for someone.
"Speaking of which… why haven’t I seen that person? Didn’t you say they’re also in Purple Mist City right now?"
The Judgement Saintess paused for a moment, then shook her head helplessly.
"You know very well, they always move around unpredictably, appearing and disappearing without warning. If they don’t tell us where they are, how could mortals possibly know? But earlier, they told me something, and then disappeared together with the Sword Saint and his student. If I’m not wrong, they… are probably no longer in Purple Mist City."
The three Saintesses looked at each other. Even with countless questions in their minds, in the end, all they said together in a soft, faithful voice was.
"Praise the Goddess."
……………………………………
Far to the East, in the Frederick City.
On the streets of the Imperial Capital, a black-haired girl in white robes was holding the hand of a blonde dragon girl, strolling casually through a busy market. Sometimes they stopped to look at the sights and make small comments. Sometimes they bought local snacks from street stalls. They looked completely relaxed and carefree.
At first glance, they seemed like two young women visiting the capital from far away. They were beautiful and graceful, but they didn’t release any magic power or aura at all. In the Austre Empire’s capital, where people respect strength above all, this made them actually not stand out much.
Even though the two great empires were at war on the border, the capital was far from the battlefield and hardly affected. Everywhere the girl looked, she saw busy, thriving streets.
From time to time, squads of Imperial soldiers passed by in mechanical armor, holding magic rifles. But they didn’t bother the townspeople, keeping good order and discipline. While they weren’t as skilled as the Holy Knights, they were still elite troops.
To be honest, the order in Austre’s capital Frederick was probably even better than in the Holy Capital, Angel City. When Violet first noticed this, she was a little surprised. The two nations had very different cultures, and the Austre Empire always valued force and fighting. She had expected this place to be full of violent, chaotic energy.
After all, the Nobos Iron-Blood Empire, a smaller nation that copied Austre’s system, was exactly like that. But now she could see the big difference between a great empire and a small one.
Unlike the priestess, who was full of curiosity about everything new, the little dragon girl didn’t seem to be in a good mood. She moved like someone with something on her mind. Before long, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and spoke up.
"Hey… Master, weren’t we here to cause trouble for that Emperor? Why have we just been wandering around the city these days? Why don’t we just go to the palace and catch him right away?"
Hearing the dragon girl’s question, Violet turned to look at her and smiled.
"My cute little Xiao Guang, do you want the truth or a lie?"
"Uh…?"
"Alright, the truth is, we only got here so quickly because a certain princess went to a lot of trouble to set up a magic beacon for us. If we beat up her father the moment we arrived, that would be kind of rude, wouldn’t it? So I thought we should take it slow, rest for a while, and then think about making our move. How’s that answer?"
Xiao Guang looked strangely at her master, who was talking so casually. As the dragon who probably knew the priestess best in the whole world, she naturally understood what kind of person Violet was.
“So, Master… what’s the real reason?”
The black-haired girl spread her hands and smiled slightly.
“With the situation right now, even if we beat up that emperor, it would only solve the surface problem, not the real one. We should let the big fish stay on the hook longer. Things haven’t reached the most interesting stage yet~”
“I knew it…”
The Dragon God shook her head helplessly, not bothering to comment on her master’s twisted sense of fun.
Still, after that little bit of playful banter, her mood clearly improved. Soon, as if noticing something, her brows lifted and she suddenly turned her head.
“Master, look over there.”
“Hm?”
Following the direction her companion was pointing, Violet looked to the side, and saw an imperial unit of about a hundred soldiers moving slowly in formation down the wide streets of the capital.
Their outfits were somewhat different from the usual city garrison soldiers, and what really caught her attention were the guarded vehicles moving along with them.
Prisoner transport?
Violet was surprised. Inside the metal cages, she saw more than a dozen figures whose breathing was weak and whose energy seemed drained.
They looked human in build, but their skin was smoother than normal, their clothing was plain, and patches of scales grew on parts of their bodies, covering key areas and some skin. Most striking were the tear-like markings at the corners of their eyes.
“Merfolk? And… the Mingjiao tribe?”
When returning from the Ancient Spirit Realm to the Origin Realm and passing through the Emerald Sea, Violet had once dealt with this very race in the Emerald Sea. A lot had happened between them.
After the “Ghost Ship” incident was temporarily resolved, the creatures of the Emerald Sea, under the merfolk’s leadership, had planned to migrate elsewhere to avoid the possible destruction if the great evil god Octavier awoke again. One of the main reasons Princess Nitila of the Mingjiao tribe had traveled with them to the eastern coast was to search for unclaimed islands suitable for resettlement.
Now, a year had passed since then. Their migration should be mostly complete by now, but Violet had not kept much contact recently, so she had no idea what the current situation was.
So why were Mingjiao merfolk being escorted into the Imperial Capital?
The Frederick City was in the far northeast of Austre Empire, more than a thousand kilometers from the nearest coastline. The Mingjiao tribe usually lived in the sea, so reaching here would take at least a month’s travel. No one would make such a long trip unless there was a serious reason.
And the soldiers escorting them were clearly imperial navy troops, Violet had met such soldiers before. That only confirmed the prisoners’ origin.
The convoy, moving so openly through the streets, naturally attracted the attention of many locals, who began talking among themselves. Violet focused her hearing on them and quickly picked out some useful details.
“Hey, did you see? I’ve seen merfolk before, but this kind with tear marks by their eyes is really rare.”
“What’s the big deal? I’ve seen at least five or six convoys like this recently. Just some sea-tribe from the east.”
“You’re clueless. This is the royal bloodline of the merfolk, and they’re one of the main troublemakers who’ve been harassing our coastline lately. I don’t know what’s wrong with these sea-people, daring to cause trouble while we’re fighting in the west. Hmph, they’re just asking for death!”
“Exactly. I heard from my nephew’s neighbor, who serves in the east, that not long ago the imperial navy fought a huge battle with those sea-people’s main force. Beat them badly. Took over ten thousand prisoners. These must be some of the ones caught then.”
“I wonder why His Majesty bothered bringing these merfolk all the way to the capital. Maybe to use them as hostages, so the rest of the sea-tribe won’t dare attack again?”
“Who knows? His Majesty is wise and powerful. How could the likes of us guess his thoughts? We just watch the show.”
“Heh, true, true.”
“Hahaha…”
Once the talk turned sensitive, everyone quickly agreed and ended the discussion.
The Austre Empire… was at war with the sea tribes of the eastern seas?
From all that chatter, Violet had just extracted a very clear piece of news, one that made her pause in surprise.