Divine Kingship

Chapter 641 The Torch Church Reunited
Rand soon received Luca's report.

He almost rolled his eyes when he saw the message.

This group of nobles wanted Luca to help them solve the plague problem as a hero, but they also did some inexplicable things that made them hostile to Luca.

He really does seem a bit schizophrenic.

Moreover, as a super adventurer with a full set of magical equipment, Luca might also have some luck involved, so how could he possibly be defeated under those circumstances?

The one trying to win over Luca is a duke from a kingdom in the south. To be honest, that's a very powerful position. A duke can have one to three top-level professionals serving him.

Unfortunately, Luca's Moonsword seems to be quite formidable, and his teammates are by no means incompetent and will only hold him back.

With prior preparation, such an adventurer team, even with several children as burdens, easily broke through the Southern Duke's encirclement.

They suffered minor injuries, but Rand provided them with Golden Leaf potion.

Minor injuries are the same as no injuries at all.

However, this adds another chapter to Luca's legendary career.

Afterwards, the Duke, of course, would not say that he had failed to kill the Sunrise Adventurer Party, but claimed that he had invited the aspiring hero Luca to destroy a cult in his city.

If the Sunburst Adventurer Party were just an adventurer party, they wouldn't be able to expose the Grand Duke, but Rand was standing behind them.

Now, the news of the Grand Duke's cooperation with the Order of the Scourge is about to become a bargaining chip in Rand's hands.

However, Rand was not happy about this.

He felt he had underestimated the number of mentally challenged people in the world.

It's entirely understandable that the southern countries wouldn't cooperate with him, given the significant conflict of interest.

It's understandable not to believe that a plague can cause world-destroying harm, given that there's no precedent for it in history.

But what's with this collaboration with the Cataclysm? It's just like what Earl Flying Fox of the Frostmoon Kingdom thought back then. Do they really think that in this day and age, as a human power, they can use a cult to achieve their goals without getting their hands dirty?
Back then, under the suppression of the Torch Church, various cults couldn't cause much of a stir, except for the Blood of Nurturing, which was somewhat rampant. It's understandable that some nobles secretly used cults.

But now, does anyone still think that cooperating with the current Cataclysmic Order will lead to being let off the hook?

Or have you been misled into believing that eternal silence is also a form of immortality?
Rand was speechless. He decided to send a letter threatening to expose their stupidity if they didn't cooperate.

As for the widespread dissemination of Luca's identity as a hero, Rand was somewhat helpless. It was indeed easy for someone like Luca, who was kind-hearted and had good talent and luck, to attract attention.

Let's hope they have better luck.

"How's Karin's progress?" Rand stopped thinking about the situation on the southern front.

"Kalin Eldridge is about to arrive at the New Holy City with the army of the Nascent Souls and the vanguard of the Old Holy City," Olena reported, holding the documents.

“Very good, our army should be nearby as well?” Rand looked at Ellie, who was sitting on the queen’s throne on the other side.

Ellie nodded: "Yes, our main force has arrived nearby. If there are any changes in the new Holy City, we will cooperate with Ms. Karin to launch a strong attack. If there are no problems, we will directly enter the city and take over the city."

“And what about the progress of our allies?” Rand asked.

"We have already begun to establish several lines of defense in our core 'nail' cities."

Rand's strategy was very simple, no different from the past: establish several core stronghold cities to fight the plague, such as New Holy City and the Skaven City.

Another example is the border city that the Moon Phase Kingdom is currently repairing.

These key cities will become the backbone of the defense line, the nails in the coffin.

Then Rand will make a judgment based on the situation, and then decide whether to gradually arrange a retreat or launch a counterattack when the situation is favorable.

In short, Rand decided to play it safe and see how things went first, since he wasn't omniscient and didn't know whether his human teammates were reliable or not.

He has different strategies for dealing with different situations.

If all else fails, RAND also has strategic redundancy and can retreat northward.

In this world, bad things, like cults or vampires, used to ravage the north, but now it's the south's turn. Hopefully, the people of the southern kingdom can be more reliable.

On paper, the Southern Kingdom is significantly stronger than the Northern Union.

The climate in the south is warmer, allowing for two or even three harvests of grain per year.

This allowed the South to have a larger population with the same land area, and the surplus food allowed them to spend less time growing food and more time developing culture and industry.

However, higher population density may also make the spread of the plague easier.

……

Meanwhile, the new Holy City has gradually come under the control of the clergy of the Holy Domain.

Initially, seven of the upper-ranking knights disappeared.

Then some mid-level paladins stopped showing themselves.

Then some lower-ranking paladins began to be summoned, imprisoned, or simply disappeared.

Such changes may not cause much of a reaction in the short term, but over time many people will naturally feel that something is wrong.

Realizing something was wrong, the paladins went to the Grand Cathedral and demanded an explanation from the Grand Knight Commander.

The Grand Knight Commander was not afraid at all, or rather, he was very satisfied.

The Grand Knight Commander looked at the fully armed paladins gathered together.

These paladins are indeed quite threatening; they are numerous and their combat strength is estimated to be considerable.

But it doesn't matter, this is exactly the effect the Grand Knight Commander wanted.

During this period, he has been taking continuous action to eliminate potential leaders from the utilitarian faction.

It's almost done.

Before any action was taken, the power of the utilitarian faction in the new Holy City far exceeded that of the Holy Land.

Currently, the utilitarian faction's power in the new Holy City, even on paper, far exceeds that of the Holy Domain.

But now that Saint Karin is about to arrive, the utilitarian knight commanders have been controlled, and even the middle-ranking knights have been almost completely purged before they are suspected.

Then these games of numbers on paper are meaningless, and these utilitarian heretics no longer have the power to truly resist.

Now, the Grand Knight Commander is making his actions more obvious, inciting these people to come to the Grand Cathedral to question him, which is also part of his plan.

These must be the paladins who oppose the Sanctuary the most, and they should also be the richest group of paladins.

They came to question their former esteemed leader, the Knight Commander, only because of their money.

It would be troublesome if these opponents mingled in the city, waiting for an opportunity to escape or cause trouble.

And now, they have come together...

All problems should be solved now. "What do you want to know?" the Grand Knight Commander asked.

The Grand Knight Commander was kind and gentle, like a father or a grandfather.

This put the lead paladin at ease: "The knight commanders have disappeared, and we want to know what they've been doing. There also seems to be a lot of danger in the city lately, things we don't know about. Many of our comrades have also disappeared."

"We want to know what happened."

"That's because we're preparing to welcome the great Holy Maiden, and the new Holy City can't have anything that might disturb her mood."

"What do you mean?" The knight captain swallowed hard and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"You understand now, don't you?" The old, kind-looking Grand Knight Commander smiled.

The Grand Knight Commander then said solemnly, “Surrender now, and you will be given the opportunity to undergo labor reform by His Majesty Rand. But if you remain obstinate, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

The knights drew their swords from their waists.

Although they couldn't understand why their Grand Knight Commander, who had found a way out after the devastation of the Sun Project in the New Holy City, would now become a traitor to the Holy Land.

They couldn't understand the reason, but they knew very well that if they chose to surrender now, all the wealth they had accumulated over the years would be lost.

Moreover, the Grand Knight Commander allowed them to come before the Great Cathedral and question him.

But they didn't prepare enough troops to wipe them out. Wasn't that a bit too presumptuous?
In any case, they have fought quite a few battles over the years in order to expand their business and sell the fire materials of the new Holy City.

They still retain their fighting capacity, and they share the same goal.

Of course, they were still nervous. The Grand Knight Commander was the leader of the new Holy City and was respected by everyone before the recent events. He was certainly not someone who had earned his reputation for nothing.

They were merely somewhat confident in their own numbers and combat capabilities.

They were also convinced that the old knight commander clearly wanted to sell the new holy city to the Holy Land, and that not many people would support him.

The eldest knight commander simply smiled faintly; young people always believe in some possibilities.

When faced with a matter of life and death, the old man would eliminate all possibilities.

He slowly stepped back, and a figure in black robes walked up to the elderly Grand Knight Commander.

It was a slender figure, barely recognizable as a woman, tall and with a good figure.

His entire body was wrapped in a black robe, obscuring his face, but some soft golden hair could be seen spilling out of the hood and fluttering in the sunlight.

Of course, you can still see some metallic sheen, which is suspected to be a crown, but it seems too low. Wearing a crown like that would obscure the eyes and make it difficult for the wearer to see clearly.

Everyone didn't know why.

The man in the black robe took off his hood.

Her beautiful and dazzling blonde hair began to shine before everyone's eyes.

Her crown did indeed cover her eyes; it was a beautiful silver-inlaid crown that, as an ornament, made the woman appear even more mysterious and beautiful.

But the paladins below the stage remained clueless.

Until the expressions of some of the older, higher-ranking paladins began to change.

From trepidation to determination, it gradually turned ashen, then dark.

“Damn it… damn it…” A pragmatic paladin who understood the situation moved his lips.

The young paladin beside him was still confused.

“Yes…” Another older paladin, who was already struggling to hold his weapon, swallowed repeatedly. “It’s Karin.”

At this moment, Karin also removed her crown and opened her eyes.

A pair of magnificent ruby ​​eyes, as if everything in the world were burning within them.

“I am Karin Eldridge. You should all have heard of me. I am known as the Crimson Queen.” Karin said calmly.

Her voice was not loud, but clear and gentle, like that of a nun praying in the morning.

But the autumn breeze still carried these words to the ears of all the paladins present, igniting a fire of fear in their hearts.

Now, the confused young paladins understood the situation.

They may have never seen a King-level fighter personally take action, but they could already tell from their seniors' reactions just how terrifying that was.

They dropped their weapons, they turned around, they tried to lift their feet, they tried to wave their arms.

But flames ignited.

It was as if a terrifying purgatory had descended to earth, but the magnificent flames also added a touch of beauty to this purgatory.

Of course, its destructiveness is no less.

……

Afterwards, only a large number of charred corpses were left in the square.

The elderly Grand Knight Commander arranged for the bodies to be disposed of, as leaving so many charred remains in the square was unsightly.

Then the Grand Knight Commander entered the sanctuary, where incense had been used to somewhat alleviate the stench of burning corpses.

“Your Excellency, thank you for your help. Now all the trouble is resolved, and we can focus on building defenses to fight against evil.” The Grand Knight bowed to Karin.

Karin helped the Grand Knight up, saying helplessly, "It's only right that I come to help. You've already done so much. Without your assistance, it would be incredibly difficult to solve these problems."

The Grand Knight Commander laughed heartily: "Hahaha, it's truly a blessing from the Torch Goddess that I can still do some things at my age. This is all I should do, hahaha."

Karin smiled, but quickly frowned: "You've been working too hard. Your health doesn't seem to be very good. Our Sanctuary's medical department will be here soon, and you won't have to work so hard and endure this anymore."

If we were to pinpoint the greatest contributor to the smooth resolution of the problems in the new Holy City, it would undoubtedly be this old man.

It would be impossible for him to rise from a puppet Grand Knight Commander to the real Grand Knight Commander without enduring much hardship, constantly walking on thin ice, and suffering harm and threats.

For a paladin of such advanced age, he must be willing to risk his life for his cause.

"Your Excellency need not worry. Fighting evil is the first thing we need to consider now. My old bones were not going to live much longer anyway, and the fact that they can still be used is already a pleasant surprise."

Karin looked somewhat sad, and she sighed, "I will not deprive you of your right to work, but I still suggest that you try to preserve your strength. His Majesty Rand may have a way to save you."

But the old paladin no longer cared about any of that.

He felt he had lived enough.

The Torch Church has now been reunited.

(End of this chapter)