The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 259 Scenario Simulation
Lessier, the outer city.

A volley of arrows rained down like a tide.

"Protection!"

At one defensive section, the knight commander shouted an order, and the shield-guarding knights, spaced apart in the middle of the formation, simultaneously raised their longswords and shouted in unison.

"Divine Protection!"

Holy light shone from the tip of the sword, quickly expanding into a semi-transparent golden shield. The shields on the entire array were activated simultaneously, overlapping and merging into one, leaving no blind spots.

Boom boom boom!
A dense rain of arrows fell continuously, producing a series of muffled thuds and creating ripples on the shield, but it could not break through.

Meanwhile, the counterattack against the demons outside the defensive line had already begun.

Several holy flame priests, holding scepters and wearing white-gold robes, gathered together, their scepters touching, chanting the same divine oracle.

A cloud appeared out of thin air on the battlefield outside, and as they combined their magic, it continued to expand until it reached its limit. A golden light shone, and at an extremely fast speed, it outlined the shape of a hand in the cloud.

boom!
The cloud hand descended from the sky, landing with a loud thud before dissipating, while the demons on the ground and the advancing siege equipment were all reduced to ashes.

"For Lesser!"

Taking advantage of this opportunity, a group of church knights charged out through the gap in the defense and began fighting among the demon warriors.

The sound of killing shook the sky.

Even standing atop the inner city's Saintess Tower, Alena could still hear the sounds of battle raging outside the city.

From this vantage point, she could also get a clear view of the battle situation outside the city. The outermost dark mass was the demonic battle formation attacking Laisui'er.

At this time of year, it was already quite cold in Lessier. Her breath created white mist, blurring the glass window in front of her.

But she felt that her hands and feet were colder, even colder than the weather.

—The holy city of Lesser has been surrounded by demons.

She vaguely remembered that two or three years ago, when Her Highness was still a prospective saintess, she seemed to have made a similar joke. But when it actually happened, she felt no joy or nostalgia, only uncontrollable fear.

Was this how Your Highness felt when you were defending Lutia six months ago?

Alena pressed her hand against the cold window and subconsciously shook her head.

No, according to the Papal Palace, the number of demons currently surrounding the city is far less than the number of demons attacking Lutia, where the real main force of demons is located.

On the other hand, Lessier was not as large as Lutia.

Overwhelmed by panic, she couldn't even be sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for the defense of the city.

Holy light shone continuously in the small room at the top of the tower. After casting several calming and tranquilizing spells on herself, Alena finally calmed down.

She shifted her gaze slightly from the battlefield outside the city to the inner city wall where the outer and inner cities met. It was now filled with church knights, who were Leslie's last line of defense.

If the outer city falls, the inner city will also be breached...

The convent of St. Mary had very little defense.

—About half a year ago, Her Highness the Saintess toured the Northern Territory and took all the guard knights with her.

Her gaze fell upon the Papal Palace across from the Grand Plaza of the Holy City, and she felt a little more at ease.

If the inner city falls, everyone is doomed.

This is the last central hub of the Papacy. Even if they wanted to escape to the Holy Mountain because it was surrounded from the outside, they would not have a chance. The Papacy would use all its strength to defend the inner city of Lessér.

Although it wasn't appropriate to think that way, Alena felt much more relaxed, both physically and mentally, after silently repeating "If the Pope doesn't die, I won't die" a few times. She found genuine comfort in this.

As she descended from the Tower of Saintess and saw the other panicked or distracted ladies-in-waiting of the Convent, she regretted that she could not directly share this highly effective reassurance. She could only tell each lady-in-waiting she encountered that the Papal Palace would do everything in its power to protect the inner city.

The only one who could be described as calm was High Sister Jabi.

"You're down?" Gabi glanced at Alena and continued her work. "How's the situation outside the city?"

“The battle is still ongoing, and I can’t see the specifics,” Alena said.

“Don’t worry.” Jia Bi placed a file in the cabinet behind her and continued working. “The inner city will not fall.”

Alena looked at her. "The High Nun has great confidence in the Guardian Knights outside the city."

"I have confidence in the Papal Palace."

Jabi sneered, "This is the last refuge of the Vatican, with nowhere left to retreat. Don't worry, we won't die before the Pope and those cardinals."

"..."

Alena was speechless.

High Sister Gabi thought so too...

"I wonder what His Highness will think when he learns that Lesser is besieged," Alena sighed softly.

Jabi paused for a moment, then said, “We should be thankful that Her Highness has not suffered such danger again. The Holy Maiden will return to the Convent sooner or later. What we need to do is to fulfill our duties and do everything we are supposed to do until Her Highness returns.”

Alena lowered her head. "Yes."

Jabi looked up at her. "That's true, but now that Lessier is besieged, we don't have much to do. Go and comfort those ladies-in-waiting, and those low-ranking nuns. What kind of image is this, crying and sobbing all the time?"

"Yes."

After leaving Jabi, Alena had no time to comfort each of them individually. She summoned several female officials and the senior nuns and asked them to pay attention to the mental state of the lower-ranking nuns.

Back in her office, she thought for a moment and decided to write a letter to Her Highness the Holy Maiden outside.

Although she estimated that he already knew about the situation here, she still wrote down what she had seen and heard in the letter, without making any presumptuous judgments, only stating the facts. She believed that he would have an accurate deduction about whether the inner city of Lessier could be defended and the current state of the St. Mary's Convent.

After finishing the letter, she thought for a moment and then summoned a female official: "Where is His Highness now?"

The lady-in-waiting flipped through a booklet in her hand and quickly replied, "His Highness and his entourage should have arrived at White Horse City in Cogano the day before yesterday."

“Alright, send this letter to the Cathedral of White Horse City.” Alena handed over the folded letter.

"Yes, Sister Deacon."

The lady-in-waiting took the letter and left, handing it to the church messenger who was waiting inside the monastery.

The white-winged winged beings spread their enormous wings and took flight from within the city, soaring over the high city walls between the inner and outer walls of Lesser, passing through the rising black smoke, flying over the constantly fighting battlefield outside the city, and heading southwest.

When this letter reached Eric, it was delivered among several other letters.

After reading the first few letters from Lutia, Eric frowned, pondering the true attitude of the Military Council, mainly Memphis. He absentmindedly picked up the next letter, only to find that it was from Alena.

After reading the letter, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Highness?"

Eric looked up to see Natalia standing on the outside terrace, preparing to enter his room.

The governor's mansion in Whitehorse City wasn't as grand as those in Sunset City or Westwind City, but there was one thing Eric really liked: the exquisite rooftop terrace. It extended the indoor space to the outdoors, making it much more spacious. The terraces were connected, making it convenient for Natalia to visit during the day or for Kasha to borrow a bed at night.

"Laisel is surrounded by the demon army, and my people have written to me to complain."

Eric invited her in and handed her the letters he had already read.

"The Convent of Saints?... The nuns must be very worried that Leslie will be breached by the demons." Natalia sat down next to him, captivated by his words, temporarily pausing her reading of the letter in her hand. "Speaking of which, some of my friends should still be in the convent..."

“Those noble ladies? They are probably the main source of panic in the convent.”

Eric glanced at the letter in his hand. Alena mentioned that a considerable number of the nuns were pessimistic about the situation in Leslie, especially the noble ladies.

Natalia paused for a moment, then said, "Should I write them a few letters to comfort them?"

Eric was also taken aback, but after thinking for a moment, he did not refuse, "If Your Highness has time."

"I'll write now."

Natalia took out some stationery and a quill pen, dipped it in ink, and before putting pen to paper, asked him, "Is Lesser really one hundred percent capable of holding on?"

Eric nodded. "Not because it's a holy city, but because the Papacy is there."

Natalia understood; a few letters, devoid of political maneuvering and simply offering comfort, could be written effortlessly. And while she was writing, Eric read Alena's letter twice more.

“Actually, I can understand their concerns,” Eric said.

"Hmm?" Natalia didn't look up.

"When I left Lessier, I took all the church knights belonging to the St. Mary's Convent with me."

“It doesn’t matter. If the inner city of Lesser doesn’t hold, adding another squad of knights won’t change anything.” Natalia said as she wrote the last few sentences, “Hmm… this sentence can also be added to the letter.”

Eric waited until she finished writing the letter before continuing, "The parents of these noble ladies are no longer in Lutia, and judging from the chaos before and after the fall of Lutia, some of them may have to stay in the convent forever."

Natalia paused for a moment, then said, "Then we can only ask Your Highness to take good care of them."

Eric then talked to her about the letters she had in her hand.

"Memphis seems to have some reservations about Sterling leading troops directly to Gradia to resist the demons."

Natalia didn't speak, but after reading through the letters in her hand, her face darkened. "At a time like this, how can he still doubt Sterling's true intentions!"

Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the letter, she, like Eric, could immediately discern Memphis's true intentions.

"Because Cogano is quite a distance from Grandia."

Eric leaned back in his chair. "With Dorn and Otwell in between, and Dorn even closer to Gradia than Cogano, it's hard not to suspect that Sterling has something on his mind about Gradia itself... Don't glare at me, I'm talking about Memphis's thoughts."

Natalia glared at him. "I'm glaring back at what Your Highness represents in Memphis right now."

"..."

Eric sighed, "Then I'll represent Memphis now. How can Your Highness convince me that Sterling has no designs on Gradia and that sending troops there is only to resist the demons?"

Natalia glared at him for a moment, then looked away before turning back. After a moment's thought, she said, "If Sterling really has designs on Gradia, why didn't he make his move when the war in Lutia was at its fiercest, instead of choosing a time when the demons were preparing to attack Gradia?"

"Um……"

Eric thought for a moment, “I think Sterling might not have originally had the intention or the courage to do so, but now, taking advantage of the fight against the demons, he might be able to do something. The thought of him sleeping in my big bed in the governor’s mansion, which is rightfully mine, makes me feel uncomfortable.”

"..."

Natalia rolled her eyes. "Memphis isn't that petty."

Eric looked at her. "There wouldn't have been before, but Your Highness promised me that once the demons are defeated, Gradia will be my exclusive duchy."

Natalia tossed the letter she was holding over.

Eric reacted quickly and grabbed it.

"Sorry, I've said too much."

He touched a nerve.

Natalia took a deep breath and then apologized to him.

"Shall we continue?" Eric asked, looking at her.

She looked at him for a while, sighed, and turned her head to the side, saying, "Your Highness cannot truly represent Memphis's real thoughts."

“But we have to convince him to just take it as a reference,” Eric said.

Natalia's eyes darted around as she looked at him: "So, do you want Gradia to be taken over by the demons, or do you want Sterling to sleep in your bed for a few nights?"

“I don’t want any of them. I will personally lead the troops back from Lutia to defend it,” Eric replied.

"What about the Lutia front? Won't it take time and money for the army to get back from there?" Natalia pressed.

"But I really care about my Grandia!"

"..."

Natalia glared at him, seething with hatred.

Eric suspected she was starting to take her anger out on him—though his sarcastic tone was also a big problem.

Before she exploded, he quickly took the initiative to reduce her stress.

“Unless Your Highness makes a promise that if Sterling stays in Guradia and refuses to leave, or takes something with him when he leaves, the Military Council will be willing to send troops to drive him out and make him return the things. At the very least, it cannot prevent me from doing so.”

Natalia looked at him, her brow furrowed. "Just one promise is enough?"

“Of course it’s not enough, but it gives me a little peace of mind,” Eric said. “Your Highness must understand what I’m risking my life for in Lutia.”

Natalia was silent for a moment. "What will Sterling think of the Military Council making such a promise?"

"Then you'll need to figure out how to explain it to him."

Eric crossed his legs. "I need to tell him he can't mess around in my territory, but I can't be too blunt and let him know I suspect him, since we'll still have to work together in the future."

Natalia glanced at his crossed legs, and Eric quickly put them down.

"I feel that Your Highness is here to undermine my trust in Memphis."

"...Let's leave it at that then."

Natalia shook her head and gave a short laugh.

"I've already started thinking about a plan to assassinate Memphis."

"..."

Eric could sense that she was serious when she said this, "Your Highness, please pull back from the brink."

“It’s tight,” Natalia said calmly.

She quickly took out several new sheets of paper and began writing something on them.

Eric inquired, and she said it was a record of the conversation she had just had, which she planned to organize and then send back to Memphis.

"There are still a few letters I haven't finished reading."

After reading the rest of the letters, apart from one in which Edgar speculated about Memphis's current state of mind, the rest contained nothing of importance.

"Duke Edgar's thoughts are similar to His Highness's. He asked His Highness to find a way to get Governor Stirling to promise not to occupy Gradia, while not damaging the cooperative relationship between the two sides."

“You’re really putting me in a difficult position. I’ve only known Sterling for a few days…” Eric glanced sideways at the contents of the letter. “Why don’t you ask Princess Natalia for a solution?”

Natalia was somewhat speechless. "Is there a difference? Your Highness and I have always been one."

Eric glanced at her.

She realized her previous statement was somewhat ambiguous and prepared to correct herself, "I meant..."

"Your Highness is right." Eric nodded emphatically. "Let's think of a solution together."

Natalia turned her face away and looked out onto the terrace.

"...I'm going outside for a while."

Stepping onto the terrace, Natalia looked up at the azure sky and slowly exhaled.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke again.

"Our journey has been heading south the whole time. If we don't stop, I'll almost forget that it's already late autumn... It's like autumn is chasing after us."

"Yes, it has caught up with us now."

Eric looked at Natalia outside and said, "It should snow in Lutia in about two weeks."

Natalia thought for a moment and nodded. "That's about right."

“We can put pressure on Memphis by putting time on him,” Eric said.

She looked into the room and stared at Eric for a moment. "Now I feel even more like he's using Lutia's safety as leverage to put pressure on us."

Eric looked up at the ceiling. "Damn it... how long has it been peaceful on the front lines?"

Seeing his lifeless expression, the thought that had been jokingly uttered earlier resurfaced in Natalia's mind.

Eric seemed to sense something and suddenly turned to look at her.

"..."

You can even sense that?

Natalia's lips moved as if she was about to say something, but she realized that he wasn't looking at her, but at the spot a little to the side of her.

She turned her head and noticed that a crow had appeared on the railing beside her.

Crows...the messengers of death.

Natalia's heart skipped a beat.

"Where have you been?" Eric asked the crow.

"Gah-"

The crow flapped forward and transformed into a human shape in mid-air.

“We’ve gone to the forest outside the city. It’s a huge forest, I love it here,” Kasha said as she entered his room, while Eric’s attention was drawn to Natalia, who stood behind her looking completely bewildered.

Her Highness the Grand Princess seems to have some complicated thoughts on her mind today...

"Is it the forest next to the road we came from?"

"Yes."

"Does that forest have an owner...? Never mind, you probably don't know either. I'll go ask Sterling later."

Eric looked at Kasha, then at Natalia outside.

“We’ve run into some trouble. Since we’re just killing time anyway, why don’t you take us for a walk in the forest? We can spend the night there, change our environment, and try a different perspective.”

(End of this chapter)