Chapter 584 - v3c351 Requiem(1) (2/2)
Wood looked deeply at Brendel.
This is one the faces that he least wanted to see right now, this time Ampere Seale’s plan was close to being a nightmare for him. The situation in the harbor had completely deteriorated, and if the northern coalition forces were unable to defeat the demons, then the Kirrultz Empire and the Holy Cathedral of Fire were likely to pay dearly for it together.
Those were the three Doors of Flames, and no one knew the situation better than he did. No, there was one person who probably knew at least as much as he did. Wood stared dead at him, wondering how the young man could possibly know so much about the inside workings.
As soon as Brendel opened his mouth, the northern n.o.bility exploded.
“Is this guy pa.s.sing the buck?”
“Lord Archbishop, if he can’t give a certain answer, what’s the point of us making a death-like charge at the demons, it’s almost foolish.”
“Is Her Royal Highness trying to find a way to deplete her allies’ strength?”
“It’s better to stand firm and wait for help, the Holy Cathedral of Fire won’t abandon us.”
And on the other side of the crystal ball, Princess Gryphine tugged at Brendel’s sleeve as well. She looked at him somewhat angrily and asked, “Mr. Brendel, you said we were going to act according to the opportunities that show up.”
“They are demons, Your Highness.”
“I know, but there is no need for you to take unnecessary risks,” said Her Royal Highness, trying to suppress her anger, “Mr. Brendel, we can overcome them sooner or later! I don’t support your personal heroism. Although romantic, it’s not the right thing to do!”
Brendel sighed and reached out his hand to gently straighten the tangled strands of hair on the Princess’ forehead, a move that stunned everyone around him. Even the princess herself froze, but Brendel didn’t care. To be honest, he didn’t even know if he’d make it back alive.
He understood what kind of battle he was going to face the moment he made this decision.
“Have you ever seen a real army of demons, Your Highness?” He asked softly.
… “Have you ever seen a real army of demons, you bunch of fools.” Wood slowly turned his head back, and everyone could hear the anger bred in the High Priest’s tone. The northern n.o.bles were unbeatable, but they had to bow their heads in front of the Holy Cathedral of Fire, and all of them went silent for a moment.
“Demons are the mortal enemies of order and civilization, Your Highness. They are rebellious and untamed, and although they are not under the Twilight Dragon, they are born from chaos. Born to tear everything down, everything that is good and cherished is their enemy. Their pleasures are built on mortal pain and despair.”
“The reason the Holy Cathedral fought against cults was not to silence the voices of opposition. Those who obey Twilight are believers of chaos whose faith is to tear the world apart and cause our world to cease to exist. Yet some of the people here today, some of the n.o.bles who should be taking on the responsibility of guiding the people, have foolishly ignored this.”
“The demonic scourge of the Wilderness of Four Realms is still well remembered, the demons that gushed out from the portal destroyed everything, an entire kingdom, and almost all living beings were completely exterminated. Who will save them? No one. Not even the Holy Cathedral could do it. Your Highness, have you seen the scene where demons walk over the earth and the flames of sulfur burn everything behind them?”
“I have seen it, and at the time I was not a high ranking bishop of the cathedral. Millions of demons descended upon this world, and it took the Holy Cathedral ten whole years of hard work to completely drive them back to the Sulfur River.”
“Today, Aouine is going to face the same fate.”
“Back then, the opening was just a crack on the border of Antoburo. And today, it’s three whole portals.” Wood said quietly that he would not hesitate to divulge the secrets of the temple, for if today’s issue could not be solved, his political life would also come to a complete end and he would become a sinner.
More importantly, the reputation of the Holy Cathedral of Fire would take an unimaginable blow.
On the other side, Brendel was silent for a moment and decided to get the truth out, “Your Highness, Aouine will turn into h.e.l.l on earth. But there should be a silver lining in this outcome, isn’t there?”
There are millions of lives here, and they probably have nothing to do with him. He would not see them roast in the flames, he would not see them die in agony, and he would not even hear their wails before they died.
Everything seemed so irrelevant to him, and yet he could still methodically carry out his plan to recreate this ancient kingdom on top of the wasteland.
At least Valhalla is still around, isn’t she?
Maybe. But Brendel couldn’t convince himself to just ignore it. He could tell himself he didn’t see it all, but couldn’t fool the truest emotion in his heart.
Everyone tries to run away all the time, but there is the truest version of themselves in everyone’s heart, which tells them what is right and what is wrong.
No one is born a hero but for now, at least there’s a chance to try their absolute best. As he who has been through it all understands, there is only one thing in this world that cannot be made up.
That’s regret.
Her Royal Highness looked at him in bewilderment.
“Mr. Brendel, you….”
“Your Highness, you said you’d trust me.”
“You…….” Princess Gryphine was slightly angry and struggled for a bit but in the end, she let go. “Alright, I understand……”
Brendel nodded at her, then he looked back at Archbishop Wood on the crystal ball. “It seems that we have reached an agreement. Congratulations, archbishop.”
Wood nodded but sighed faintly in his mind. The archbishop couldn’t help but slightly lower his eyelids: The way things went has been too rash, and he probably shouldn’t have condoned it in the first place.
“May Mother Marsha in heaven bless us, and may Aouine’s luck persist through this disaster.” There had never been a moment when he had so much hope for Aouine to continue existing as a Kirrultz, and Archbishop of the cathedral. Today is the day he had hoped the hardest for this country’s survival.
Brendel also laughed, “Yeah, I hope the Holy Cathedral of Fire didn’t go against the will of its predecessor, Gretel too much, otherwise wouldn’t it be unjust for me to be involved in this?”
Wood grunted m.u.f.fledly.
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