Divine Kingship

Chapter 647 The Root of Suffering

“If we remain as we are now, we will inevitably lose,” Ranta coldly replied.

Guli had hoped to hear some good news from the missionaries, who were undoubtedly far more knowledgeable than the lower-ranking soldiers like themselves.

The result, however, was cold, bad news.

If things remain the same, then defeat is inevitable.

Guli fell silent for a moment.

After treating his injuries, Ranta didn't say much and then left.

If she wanted to say something inspiring, Ranta could talk for a whole day and night.

But now, meager words can at most make some people acknowledge the coldness of reality, but they cannot rouse anyone's courage.

……

At this moment, the new holy city was engulfed in flames outside.

Karin, the Grand Knight Commander, and Archbishop Kahn are all here.

"How is the situation?" Rand's messenger found Karin in the lounge.

“There are many undead, but everything is still under control,” Karin replied, and instructed her subordinate to deliver a detailed battle report to the messenger.

In fact, the new Holy City could also use vibration communication devices to send messages, but the reliability of long messages is difficult to guarantee, and communication is not very stable nowadays, so messengers are still needed.

Karin waved her hand, watching the sky filled with undead birds and the ashes that swirled like ribbons of silk.

The area outside the new Holy City has been burning for a long time. From the sky, the new Holy City looks like a volcano that erupts frequently.

Limestone and ash, along with molten lava, have become the dominant colors here.

The messenger did not linger any longer and left immediately after receiving the battle report.

The first line of defense has already been breached in many places, or is about to be breached.

For example, the defensive line that Rand inspected earlier.

This defensive line is located in a remote area, and the number of undead it faces is far less than that near the new holy city.

However, correspondingly, the quality of the soldiers here is also worse.

Everything is reasonable: soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, the weak against the weak, and the strong against the strong.

Apart from the fact that both sides are hiding their main forces in the shadows, holding back their attacks, everything else is in the open. The undead army is stronger, while the humans are at a disadvantage.

However, the disadvantage is not actually that great, at least in terms of combat strength alone.

In theory, the plague would be contained by the Great Escape and the Holy Scripture of Health, while the endless lines of defense in the wilderness would consume the souls of every undead with their cold stones.

Unfortunately, at least for now, this is not the case.

Because there are many timid people.

Sending soldiers who had never faced such terrifying creatures as the undead to the front lines was indeed a mistake on the part of the commander, but now everyone had no other choice.

Most of the remaining soldiers on this defensive line have already deserted, and the supervisory teams have all gone to the front lines, so there is no extra manpower to deal with these deserters.

However, not all soldiers were fleeing; for example, some warriors were wearing high-quality iron armor.

They were four believers who volunteered to come to the dangerous area to complete their mission: two from the Torch Church and two from the Goddess of Harvest and Health Church.

Because the industrial system of the Lunar Kingdom is much more advanced than that of other countries, all the missionaries who come to the front lines can wear full plate armor.

They could no longer motivate their soldiers with words, so they had no choice but to take up arms themselves.

They have actually done a lot of work; if it weren't for their arrival, this place would have collapsed two weeks ago.

But now it's already approaching its limit.

"Looks like we're doomed," a Torch Church missionary muttered after killing a dead body in front of him.

“Those cowards all ran away,” a member of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health said with a sneer.

Another missionary with him, from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health, stopped him, saying, "Don't say that. Their saying that means we haven't done our job well enough."

After speaking, the older missionary from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health exchanged glances with the other two missionaries from the Church of the Torch, and said, "Oren, when we came, we were provided with a Dragonblood Eagle. We now need you to go back and report our situation to His Majesty Rand, summarize the mistakes in our work, and provide case studies for other colleagues."

The youngest missionary of the goddess of harvest and health, Oren, who had called the other soldiers cowards, glared angrily at his respected senior: "Are you saying that I'm going to run away like a coward now?"

While the two missionaries from the Torch Church were battling the spirits of the dead, they still had the leisure to cast amused glances in their direction, as if they were watching someone else's noisy family squabble during an afternoon stroll.

The chilling wails of the undead, mingled with the summer night wind, pressed down on the four warriors who still retained their courage.

“I’m not going.” The young member of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health was somewhat stubborn.

"This is an order. I am the commander of this operation. Are you going to disobey my orders?" the older cultist shouted.

The two missionaries from the Torch Church nodded repeatedly, acknowledging the authority of the missionary, the Goddess of Old Harvest and Health, as the chief minister.

"But……"

"There are no 'buts'. Do you remember the oath you took when you joined the church? Are you going to break your oath, betray the trust that Lord Rand placed in you, and betray our faith?"

This elderly missionary of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health rarely spoke like this, and the young believer knew why his elder was using these things to pressure him at this time. He wanted to refute, but his limited knowledge left him unsure how to counter his elder's teachings.

"Haha, look at you, you can't even argue with me. You're too weak and too stupid. You'll have to practice more in the future." The older missionary looked at his junior, whose face was flushed, and chuckled, his expression softening before returning to seriousness: "Oren! Now execute the order!"

The young believer gritted his teeth, because thanks to the high-quality food from the holy land, his teeth were not worn out or damaged like those of people in many other regions.

But due to the long hours of work and the current battle, his lips were cracked and stained with rotting blood and burning ashes.

In the end, he obeyed his senior's orders; perhaps it was just that he was afraid of death...

After watching the youngest person riding the Dragonblood Eagle leave.

Several church members are facing their end times again.

The dead have filled the entire sky and the entire earth.

If you look down from the sky...

So the undead here can't really be considered a vast ocean.

But for the few remaining soldiers within the defensive line, they were overwhelmed. The few soldiers still fighting faced not particularly strong enemies, but their numbers were simply too great.

People get tired.

Just before dawn, one of the Torch Church missionaries was finally knocked to the ground by a festering rat, followed by another Torch Church missionary.

The remaining missionaries of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health were also exhausted, but as an old man who had followed Rand for many years, he still had some ideas.

That is to use those forbidden powers. These old-timers would never let newcomers know about such powers, nor would they use them themselves. But now, they have no such reservations.

“I remember learning from Bishop Ranta how to do it,” the weary missionary said, removing the scratched and uneven armor from his hands.

Then bite your finger.

"The great Darkness..."

As his body swelled, the high-quality armor plates produced in the Holy Land were deflected, some even flying out and cutting through the bodies of the rotting ratmen and zombies.

His Majesty Rand said that if this power is used, it is very likely that even the soul will not be preserved.

However, he felt that if his useless soul could be put to some use again, it would be quite worthwhile.

A gigantic, black, tentacle-like creature emerged from the ruins.

……

Rand kept looking at the battle report over and over again.

He knew very well that many of his own men were now overwhelmed, but Rand was unable to lead them to victory.

From the very beginning, from the moment the Torch Goddess gave him the oracle, many things were destined.

Every nation has its own interests and its own stance, and no one is willing to make drastic sacrifices before anything has even happened.

Rand was furious about this, but there was nothing more he could do.

All he could do was try his best to ensure the final victory.

During the previous meeting, some doubted whether the elite forces of the undead might actually exist, so he came to the Ratman City to oversee the war, and the pressure there is gradually increasing.

What if the undead really do have an elite main force...?

Rand also had ways to remedy the situation; Rand hadn't given up on being wary.

“Many of the defenses near the new holy city have already been breached, and now the second line of defense is beginning to be attacked by small groups or even larger numbers of undead,” Olena reported to Rand.

Berlan and Quirrell, who were stationed in the city of the ratmen, were also here.

"How is our response going?" Rand asked.

"Although many countries are dissatisfied with our forceful intervention in their defense, we did authorize you beforehand, and your actions have effectively boosted morale on the front lines, which has only drawn criticism from other countries," Olena replied.

"Is there any progress in the research on the plague?" Rand asked again.

"There has been initial progress. Divine power does exist. It is easy to spread between humans and rodents. It is highly contagious and extremely deadly. A single plague virus can survive in the air for three days. Units killed by the plague will be resurrected by infusing them with undead power. However, such a plague is not invincible."

Olena read the report word by word. Having served as Rand's secretary for many years, Olena had a basic understanding of the industry and its direction.

As for why a single plague pathogen is called a plague monomer, it's naturally because Rand simply couldn't distinguish whether it was a virus, bacteria, fungus, mycoplasma, etc.

Of course, it could also be some kind of inorganic harmful substance.

Anyway, we'll just name it Plague Monolith.

"The plague spreads more slowly and is harder to survive in cold environments. In the winter of the White Kingdom, the plague can only survive in the air for an hour or even less. The plague is also unable to fight against flames, not even flames from the Torch Church."

After listening, Rand nodded and looked at Berlan and Quirrell, who were present: "Do you two have any questions?"

"So as long as we hide in the north, we won't have to worry about the plague?" Kui Ruo asked.

"That's how it is from the current situation, but the problem is that the undead can attack in cold environments, and a single undead army is also a significant threat. In addition, the northern lands cannot produce enough food to feed too many people," Rand replied.

“But at least it seems like there’s a way out,” Rand said, “provided that the massive deaths in the current situation don’t grant the Scourge Apostles some more terrifying power that could destroy the world.”

Berlan breathed a sigh of relief; this was finally some good news. At least she didn't have to worry too much about losing Rand, provided that Rand didn't take the lead and risk his life.

……

at the same time.

Missionaries Ranta and Chad were watching the dead beneath the city walls.

According to their ranks, they had long since reached the level of local bishops, but when they went out to work, they were more accustomed to acting as missionaries.

The summer wind is strong now.

The air was filled not only with the smell of rotting corpses, but also with the smell of horse manure, the stench of grass, and the mixed smell of food.

It was a bit disgusting, but Ranta and Chad were used to it.

“The commander here still doesn’t like us very much,” Chad and Lanta chatted.

“But he can’t do anything about us,” Ranta replied with a smile.

Just then, Chad thrust out his spear, shattering the head of the undead that was climbing up. Eerie green flames drifted out, and the skeleton would never rise again.

"Listen up, everyone! Undead have very low intelligence and low combat power. For these ordinary skeletons, just scattering them once is enough to kill them. Even the high-level skeletons can't withstand the attacks from the Church of the Torch or the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Health," Chad loudly explained to the soldiers around him about undead.

Once soldiers understand the undead well enough, they are less likely to be afraid.

“But the undead feel neither fear nor fatigue,” a nearby soldier remarked, highlighting the terrifying nature of the undead.

“Yes, the undead don’t experience fear or fatigue, but that’s not entirely an advantage. Their low intelligence and lack of fear mean that their behavior is very predictable, and we can easily use traps and terrain to eliminate large numbers of undead,” Chad continued.

To make himself more convincing, he even demonstrated by luring an undead to fall off the city wall and smash to pieces.

"Look, everyone, as long as you don't panic and use your brain, the dead aren't that scary."

“What if there are too many undead? I’ve seen undead everywhere with my own eyes,” said a soldier who looked quite cultured and was probably a free man.

“It is indeed difficult to deal with the undead united, but are we weak if we unite?” Chad smiled and pointed to the city wall below and the soldiers standing on it.

(End of this chapter)