1427 Saint Part 2 (1/2)
The little girl did not bother saying anything more. It was not her intention to be at odds with Saleen. It was simply her habit of arguing against what she did not like. She was puzzled as to why Saleen kept her alive, wondering if Saleen was actually doing it just to keep his word.
If he kept his word, then he was not an abomination.
Perhaps it was a test from God. The little girl felt better at that thought. Her god would have never cast her away. She would have been killed by that abomination long ago otherwise.
The Floating City continued to circle around Cologne City and hunt. The enchanters kept count meticulously and reported to Saleen every hour.
Such hunts were not profitable from an economic perspective. Even if the Floating City had a pseudogod as its weapon spirit, it would have to spend some energy in flight. Spending that much only to kill targets of level four and lower was akin to burning money.
Saleen stopped after a bit. The targets found in Cologne City were unsatisfactory.
Huge number of Bug Angel Warriors and demons were sent to the ground to kill any believers defending their religion.
The principle of the warriors was to hunt the people of insufficient levels. If any especially powerful holy masters showed up, the soldiers would simply let them pass instead of tangling with them.
They would have died in Cologne City anyway, so there was no need to have soldiers die killing them.
Most Bug Angel Warriors were level 7 or above, which was a result of the armor. A squadron of 40 Bug Angel Warriors had no problems taking out professionals below level 8, so anyone able to pass through the blockade and enter Cologne City were either lucky or above level 8.
Saleen was crafting a spear for Rafel when he heard reports from the enchanters keeping watch on the Floating City saying, ”there is an army coming from the west. Over 20,000-strong and well-equipped.”
It was impossible for 20,000 people to resist the Floating City in the wilderness. The images were sent back, and Saleen was surprised to find thousands in the army that were hardly capable of fighting.
The knights who escorted the people were all so well-equipped that they were on par with Saleen's elites. All of the knights rode level four warhorses, animals found only in the Holy See.
There were hundreds of holy masters among the 10,000 elite knights, protecting the believers who had little fighting capacity. They were all heading towards Cologne City.
Saleen wanted to take the Floating City to hit them, but Nicholas said, ”My liege, the Holy See seems to be about to perform a Holy Sacrifice.”
”Holy Sacrifice?” Saleen looked at Nicholas, asking for more elaboration. The Holy See had a myriad of sacrificial rituals, and an outsider like him was not able to tell much from the looks of the believers.
”A Holy Sacrifice requires over 3,000 people. It would definitely summon the god's double.” Nicholas added, ”It is some kind of insurance pulled by the Holy See, hoping that there are saints among the ones about to be sacrificed.”
”Saints! Hahaha, you're telling me that there are still pure people left in the Holy See?” Saleen laughed. Of everyone that he met in the past, not even Theisio could have been considered pure. The purest among them had been Fycro, who chose to become a god instead of continuing to serve the Lord of Glory.
”Look closely, my liege. Most of them are children.” Nicholas pointed at the magic image copied by a flying scout.
Saleen was startled. Children? If they were children, there might actually be some who were potentially saints.
There were different levels of saints. Children would definitely not be high level saints, but one saint would suffice during the Holy Sacrifice.
Am I really going to kill all the children?
Seeing Saleen feeling troubled, Nicholas added, ”My liege, there is no way the children will be able to survive such a ritual.”
It had been quite a while since Saleen had gotten angry over anything. However, when he opened his mouth, he was unable to find words.
To holy masters, giving up one's life was hardly considered cruel.
The little girl who followed Saleen was surprised to see that many children, but she quickly smiled an incredibly pure smile and said to Saleen, ”if you really are an abomination, you should kill them. If you're not, then there is no way you would be able to act against so many children, correct?”
Saleen did not say anything, but Rafel did. ”Are you hoping that Saleen is not an abomination? That would be a betrayal of your faith.”
The little girl was at a loss for words. Rafel was an angel, which meant that she knew the gods better than she did.
She currently looked like a typical angel, her wings spread as she stood behind Saleen, making Saleen look like a god.
”Let them pass, but kill all of the knights.” Saleen gave an order that everyone found puzzling. He added, ”we will now head to Cologne City and destroy everything there is to destroy!”
Saleen was giving the order to massacre the entire city. He then ordered to Nailisi to purify all the dead bodies.
His reason was simple. If the Holy See intended to summon a double of their god, then he would let them do it. The double was only at the pinnacle of level 12. Regardless of how many rules the double was able to master, it would not be able to win against his barrages of attacks.
While the Violet Angel was not around, the three weapon spirits and Rafel all had their powers sealed at the pinnacle of level 12. He, Nailisi, and the Winged Skull were at the pinnacle of level 11.
All of that, coupled with the powerful equipment of the Floating City—the 360 large scale Thunder Dragon Blasters—would make it very difficult for the god's double to get near him, even if he were to not have any certainty of killing the double.